What's the secret?

I'm watching some runs of Manny Pacquiao, Anderson Silva, Mike Tyson, Jack Dempsey, Buakaw, Semmy Schilt, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray, and even Muhammad Ali and I have to ask, how are these fighters able to dominate? Why are they better than the other competitors? Surely it can't be just talent or the training they do, as there are plenty of talents in the sea of fighters. And it can't be strength, as they compete in weight classes. And it can't be experience as they fought other weathered pro fighters.

So what is it?
What allows these fighters to stand above the rest? What allows them to dominate within the ring? Is it how they punch? Footwork? Coaches?

(My top three favorites of that list would be Buakaw, Sugar Ray, and Mike Tyson in case anyone cares)

I'm watching some runs of Manny Pacquiao, Anderson Silva, Mike Tyson, Jack Dempsey, Buakaw, Semmy Schilt, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray, and even Muhammad Ali and I have to ask, how are these fighters able to dominate? Why are they better than the other competitors? Surely it can't be just talent or the training they do, as there are plenty of talents in the sea of fighters. And it can't be strength, as they compete in weight classes. And it can't be experience as they fought other weathered pro fighters.

So what is it?
What allows these fighters to stand above the rest? What allows them to dominate within the ring? Is it how they punch? Footwork? Coaches?

(My top three favorites of that list would be Buakaw, Sugar Ray, and Mike Tyson in case anyone cares)

It comes down to the individual. Fighters are more than an amalgam of the teachers, trainers, oponents, and techniques they have. Talent comes from more places than training. The secret is the mind of the individual and how they put horsepower to pavement. Like my Uncle said, its the Indian not the Arrow.

Seriously though I think it just comes down to the fact that some people are just naturally better at certain things.

I have to disagree to some extent. I have seen really gifted people fall apart when it comes time to actually compete.
Be it:
Racing
Academic Competitions
Chess
Fighting
what have you.

Certainly at the very top a certain level of natural gift for it is needed but it take way more than that. Hard work, competitive mindset,dogged mental fortitude.
Lets look at someone like BJ Penn certainly is talented but at some point lost the work ethic and the heart.

I don't understand the premise here. It can't be strength because there are weight classes? Some fighters are stronger than others at the same weight. It can't be experience or training? Uh, why not? Training differs from camp to camp and fighter to fighter.

Some fighters are dominant because they lie on the far end of a bell curve that incorporates a multitude of factors, including a variety of skills (jiujitsu, striking, fight IQ, ring generalship...) and attributes (strength, speed, glass jawitude...). The skills are developed by training and the fighter's mind. The attributes are developed by training and the fighter's body. All factors are modulated by genetics and willpower. Experience counts, though some fighters gain more from experience than others.

It's like you said, "What caused Einstein to be so smart? You can't say it was his education or his natural talents or his hard work." You just eliminated most of the possible causal factors on nothing more than a whim. These variables do in fact vary from fighter to fighter even at the elite levels.

I don't know much about Buakaw or Sugar Ray, but Tyson's success seems to be described very well by the Four C's of boxing: he was Coachable, Conditioned himself, and Concentrated on his boxing, so he became a Champion. A combination of natural talent and doing the 1st three Cs better than other boxers made him stand out. Of course there's also a fair amount of luck involved in catching a knockout blow, getting injured or not, which opponents you get matched up with, and so on.

What a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable. -Xenophon's Socrates

I don't understand the premise here. It can't be strength because there are weight classes? Some fighters are stronger than others at the same weight. It can't be experience or training? Uh, why not? Training differs from camp to camp and fighter to fighter.

Please allow me to rephrase.
It can't based on strength because weight classes physically limit the amount of muscle you can pack onto your body. Also, some of those fighters I posted have fought heavier fighters than themselves and still won.

It can't be based on experience because I'd assume that the previous titleholder before them has fought more matches than them. And that their first few pro matches were matched against veterans of the sport. However, they still won (usually). Why is that?

Perhaps saying it can't be based on training was wrong. I meant the style of fighting more of. For instance, for those boxers, they all train with world class coaches with drills that work on the same things: footwork, movement, positioning, punching speed, power, etc. Thus they should be about the same in terms of training... level? Realistically, it doesn't translate as neatly as that, but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say here.